Sculptra.Built to last.

What it is.

Sculptra® is a poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) biostimulator made by Galderma — the same family of compounds used in dissolvable surgical sutures. Unlike hyaluronic acid filler, which adds volume immediately, Sculptra works upstream: the PLLA microparticles act as a scaffold that signals your body's fibroblasts to lay down new collagen around them, gradually, over the following three to six months.

You leave the appointment looking the same. You return to a slowly restored face. The result is your own collagen — your own structure — rebuilt in the places age and gravity have thinned it. Patients who've had Sculptra describe it less as "having work done" and more as "ageing in reverse on a slower timeline."

What we treat.

• Hollow temples — one of the earliest signs of bone resorption and fat-pad volume loss.
• Flat cheekbones & mid-face descent — restores the structural support that holds the lower face up.
• Jawline definition — softens the jowl shadow and reinforces the angle of the mandible.
• Pre-jowl sulcus & marionette area — reinforces the base that filler alone can't sustain.
• Chest décolleté — the FDA approved Sculptra for this area; it softens the vertical "sleep lines" between the breasts.
• Buttocks (off-label) — a non-surgical alternative to BBL, requires multiple vials per side.
• Full-face rejuvenation — the most common reason people start a Sculptra series at Privé.

What to expect.

A Sculptra session is 60 minutes — most of which is the consult, photos, mapping, and the careful reconstitution of the product itself. Sculptra is delivered as a powder and reconstituted with sterile water and lidocaine; the timing of that reconstitution affects how predictably it disperses, which is one of the technical reasons the product rewards experienced injectors. Treatment itself is 15–25 minutes, placed via cannula in deeper planes than HA filler.

Expect mild swelling that resolves over 24–72 hours. The volume you see immediately is the diluent (water) — that absorbs in 1–2 days. Then comes the patient part: weeks of "looking the same" while the collagen is built underneath. Photos at week 8 are different. Photos at month 4 are very different.

Appointment

60 min

Downtime

24–72 hr soft

Series

2–3 sessions

Lasts

2+ years

Results & cadence.

Most patients need a series of 2–3 sessions, spaced 4–6 weeks apart, to build a meaningful result. Each session triggers another wave of collagen deposition. You'll see softening of hollows by week 4 of the series; the full result reveals itself 3–6 months after the final session. Maintenance is typically a single session every 18–24 months, depending on the rate of natural collagen turnover.

The 5-5-5 rule.

The single most important post-treatment instruction: massage the treated area firmly five times a day for five minutes for five days. This ensures the PLLA disperses evenly and meaningfully reduces the (already-low) risk of palpable nodules. We send you home with a printed reminder; clients often set phone alarms.

Considerations.

Common, expected effects: mild swelling and bruising for 24–72 hours. Less common: small, transient nodules that resolve with consistent massage. Sculptra is deferred during pregnancy, breastfeeding, active infection at the site, history of keloid scarring, and during autoimmune flare. Because the result is collagen-based and not a gel, Sculptra is not reversible the way HA filler is — which is why we work with restraint and prefer building gradually over multiple sessions.

Who places it.

Every Sculptra treatment at Privé is performed by Elizabeth Hurley, RN, BSN, CANS — Certified Aesthetic Nurse Specialist. Sculptra rewards depth of experience because reconstitution timing, dilution volume, and placement plane all affect the predictability of the result. Elizabeth approaches every Sculptra patient as a multi-session relationship rather than a single appointment.